7 Most Extreme Boss Transformations We Didn't See Coming

When we start a fight, we like to know what we’re getting into, and that we stand a good chance of coming out on top. That’s why it’s the worst when you’re squaring up to a videogame boss who seems like they should be a pushover, only for them to suddenly transform into something you wouldn’t want to fight in a million years. Here are 7 transforming bosses who certainly didn’t look like that when we decided to fight them. Enjoy, and subscribe for more videos like this from Outside Xbox!
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[@frodobaggins7710]

I feel that if you're playing a Resident Evil or Final Fantasy game, you should always be expecting the big transforming boss to appear sooner or later

[@ryadinstormblessed8308]

On that note, how about a Final Resident Evil Fantasy crossover?

[@soulreapermagnum]

@@ryadinstormblessed8308 isn't that just FFVII and it's spin offs?

[@Urahara451]

@@soulreapermagnumI guess if you consider Jenova’s cells like the mold… kinda?

[@jacobsiron6929]

​@ryadinstormblessed8308 you would love FFXIV's P8S boss' second phase

[@midwestyle]

Really any Capcom game.

[@amandaandandrewstover3304]

I think the better example in Bloodborne is Vicar Amelia. When you walk in, she's just a normal lady in prayer, then turns into the deer/dog/human thing...

[@ShadowJCreed]

And story wise she's your next boss fight right after Gascoigne. So one horrific transformation to the next

[@stormy7745]

I think the reason they went with Gascoigne and not Vicar Amelia is because I think Gascoigne is the first one to transform on you

[@lord461]

Doesn't even make sense based on the video title.

[@stormy7745]

@@lord461 I mean, there is also the fact that Vicar Amelia transforms before the boss fight even commences and does not transform further

[@blakjaket4472]

vicar amelia doesn't transform mid fight, so its less impactful

[@RidireOiche]

Every time I see one of these transformations in a game if it's not somehow explained, like Gascoigne filling himself to burst with beast blood or like joker using venom in arkham asylum, I always wonder "Where does all the extra meat come from?" Are they all just really well condensed and highly optimised to regularly carry an extra ten or so humans' worth on the inside? How does an Obstetrician even approach breaking the news to new parents that this isn't even their child's final form, or that they have brought a multipart boss fight into the world? If you are a multipart boss fight should your parents tell you or not? is it pre-destined that you are going to turn evil and flashy?

[@Hiswf_]

I love the route this comment goes.

[@RidireOiche]

@@Hiswf_ Thanks, but I just said what we were all thinking.

[@aikan7457]

Zero-point energy or something I expect

[@chexfan2000]

right? the MASS. from whence? and simmons keeps turning back into simmons between forms. it’s madness. the most recent episode of doctor who had some creatures that signaled their approach by dropping the temperature, prompting t he doctor to say “heat into mass” which was at least a gesture towards making sense of how something could become very large very fast, even if it was a very silly gesture that doesn’t pass the sniff test 😂

[@squadbroken962]

Maybe all that extra flesh is actually just hollow inside like balloons? (or they're actually solid but like aerogel)

[@falconflier55]

Shoutout to Sekiro's Guardian Ape, which convinces you that you successfully beat him before leaping back to his feet and screaming at you with his decapitated head.

[@sindrisuncatcher653]

I appreciate that Father Gascoigne's transformation also makes his coat four times its previous size.

[@lisah-p8474]

They're made from the same fabric as the Incredible Hulk's pants.

[@kingjamos2422]

@@lisah-p8474 But didn't they run out of fabric? Ya know, since they didn't do the same for the Hulk's shirt.

[@Cuiasodo]

Point of order: Heisenberg ALWAYS had Magneto-like powers; your introduction to the guy sees him collecting a bunch of metal scrap in the air behind him and cocooning you, the player, in a makeshift metal avalanche in order to incapacitate you. The giant lizard schtic is new for his boss fight, though.

[@Ramsey276one]

His name has German for IRON in it...

[@SigmentKurosai]

I mean, you know he'll be big in the fight, because he transforms prior to that form to knock you back down into the factory, which is where you bump into Chris and get the mini-tank. A mini-tank Heisenburg was actually the one it was built by, because... reasons... and Chris just got it working.

[@Stratelier]

Part of the fun with Photoshop Flowey is that, while it may _seem_ like Flowey's appearance in the endgame comes out of nowhere, there are many points throughout the game where if you backtrack there's a chance of spotting Flowey ducking out of sight. He really _was_ stalking you the whole way. Also, credits for how he breaks the Fourth Wall (especially on PC).

[@DragoSonicMile]

What does stalking have to do with having a television for a head, multiple plant-shaped missiles, a flamethrower, and way too many mouths? There's no "seems like an appearance that comes out of nowhere". That's exactly an appearance that comes out of nowhere.

[@Stratelier]

@@DragoSonicMile Flowey's transformation into Photoshop Flowey was definitely a shocker ... I was rather pointing out how RPGs can be notorious for having a final boss that (for lack of a better explanation) "doesn't make sense", whose relation to the main plot and/or your party feels tenuous (like Necron in Final Fantasy 9). And that Undertale (to its credit) doesn't do that.

[@RanMouri82]

​@@Stratelier Agreed. Flowey's ongoing pursuit made the neutral boss fight far less surprising.

[@cyanimation1605]

Orsino in Dragon Age 2, when Mages are more oppressed than ever, decides to do what any protestor would do: Uses blood magic to turn himself into the most difficult boss from the first game's DLC Golems of Amgarrak, The Harvester, whose lore is that it's basically a meat gundam controlled by a melted face spider. You then have to fight him, whether you've supported his side of the civil war or not.

[@armelior4610]

yeah that was super stupid especially if you sided with him, since becoming an abomination is the worst thing that can happen to a mage

[@holisticreviews]

Not only did Derek Simmons surprise us with his tentacular boss form, but also wore us out with having to fight him a dozen times.

[@lisah-p8474]

I was most surprised that he seriously chose to wear a bolo tie with a straight face. Bold move.

[@greenhydra10]

I appreciate the reference to how no one can agree on what to call Flowey's boss form.

[@jason4443]

Fans called it Omega Flowey but officially it's Photoshop Flowey.

[@massgunner4152]

This is what happens when you let Toby play with Photoshop, im not joking.

[@welshlout3400]

@@massgunner4152I say let him cook 😂

[@Ramsey276one]

*NOPE* That works for me...

[@Tealbonnet9911]

​@jason4443 I usually called it Photoshop Flowey, but I thought Omega Flowey was its official name. Where did we get that name from?

[@TheMikeMilk]

I mean ... literally the first boss of Dark Souls 3, Iudex Gundyr, has a weird goop monster explode from him at around 50% health. As far as first bosses go, this one might catch you off guard if you're not prepared.

[@elik_aruna]

From Kingdom Hearts 1, Ansem's final transformation into a flesh boat was pretty wild

[@stevencitrin4293]

I’d suggest Mother Gothel from the Kingdom Hearts 3. You’d think she’d be a pushover, but she transforms into an enormous Heartless that is bigger than Rapunzel’s tower.

[@tylercharles4587]

More like she's transformed..... But point made

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

Hans also counts since Sköll is his Heartless (at least according to the KH wiki)

[@daviddaugherty2816]

You could've also included Urizen from DMC 5, who actually becomes _less_ monster-y little by little until he becomes the cold-blooded dreamboat we all know and have a sibling rivalry with.

[@TeryJones]

God I still love that moment chef's kiss. It's like the DMC5 team saw the asinine excuse Nomura made for why Master Xehanort comes back in Dream Drop Distance _(yadda yadda yadda killing Ansem and Xemnas somehow restores Xehanort because shut up)_ and thought _"Okay let's do that but actually on screen and not fucking stupid"._

[@Ramsey276one]

More like REVERTS TO

[@kingjamos2422]

@@Ramsey276one Still counts as transformations. Kind of like how in DBZ, Frieza transforms three times, however his final form is actually his base form and the other forms were to suppress his power. So even if they revert to normal, they are still changing forms.

[@deadcard13]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night deserves a mention. I was on board for dispatching Dominique. I did not sign up for Bael, who is clearly donning the form of MC Escher's sleep paralysis demon.

[@Cuiasodo]

I think I heard somewhere that Photoshop Flowey was designed by someone Toby Fox had given a description for the boss fight to, but who hadn't seen the art style or vibe of the game, so there was a deliberate style clash to further the weird, uncanny shift that happens during that boss fight. I think he still gave the designer some further briefing on elements to put into the boss monster, especially since a big chunk of the guy resembles the DT Extractor that you only find near the end of a Pacifist run, but even still, pretty effective choice.

[@fictionalcricket6789]

I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I think Flemeth in Dragon Age: Origins might qualify. I remember her turning into a dragon if you try to fight her. It’s hinted that she can fly, but I seriously doubt anyone expected THAT.

[@goofyfurball7311]

Yeah..."go kill my old witch mom" became "you sure you want to fight a dragon?". Probably could have guessed because Morrigan learned her magic from her mother and by this point Morrigan probably has 3 animal transformations and you know her mother is ancient as all heck. "Probablt could have" being the important part there because I was in no way expecting dragon.

[@sorahearts3317]

I'd say Edelgard transforming into Hegemon Edelgard was a shocker.

[@livjones2917]

The Blue Lions path was the last one I played so I thought it would go down the same as the Golden Deer and Church paths. I was not ready for Edelgard transforming!!

[@steelersfan1069]

How are we not going to talk about Live A Live’s final boss? The final boss is literally a transformation of YOUR 8th protagonist. It’s a harrowing experience to see your previous character pulsing in the chest of Odio like a heart.

[@gNetkamiko]

Yunalesca is a good choice and all for this list, but there was one in the Final Fantasy franchise before her that threw me for a loop, and not just for her final lines: Ultimecia. Literally 4 stages, and the second stage is her summoning an avatar of Squal's necklace before (on the 3rd stage) fusing with it.

[@theyorkrose5274]

What about Luke's boss transformation, from minor frost troll antagonist into the Man Who Likes Cars Too Much final boss stage 2 (to Mike's stage 1)?

[@theyorkrose5274]

Also, 13:00 TALL VAMPIRE LADY

[@perfectlyhopeless]

Gotta say I wasn't prepared in the slightest for what I'd be facing the first time I fought Orin the Red in Baldur's Gate 3

[@daviddaugherty2816]

Having played the original trilogy: being prepared didn't really help.

[@MrClonedzero]

Lack of Orsino from Dragon Age 2 is concerning....just saying. He randomly transforms himself into a hostile meat golem for seemingly no reason. No one could see that one coming.

[@daviddaugherty2816]

I love how even DA:I Varric agreed that didn't make any sense.

[@kingjamos2422]

There was a reason for it, actually. Because video game. Hey, I didn't say it was a GOOD reason.

[@RainWelsh]

“You think we’re all abominations? I’ll prove you!” “Uh. Don’t you mean, ‘prove you wrong’?” “Nah *becomes enormous meat-golem*” It’s certainly a choice, I guess.

[@persephoneunderground845]

Maybe it makes sense if you sided against him? Sounds like no. If you sided with him it's like... dude, we're winning, you don't need to turn into a mindless flesh monster that kinda pathetically attacks your own side as much as the enemy? Or at least the fight music won't end until I kill him so.... ok?

[@EST84x]

Michael Buffer is one of my heroes. You'd think there's an amazing hidden story there but nope, it's just 40 years of repeating the same line and making millions in the process. It's inspiring.

[@raggedcritical]

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 catch phrases once, but I fear the man who has practiced one catch phrase 10,000 times."

[@roguishpaladin]

Meh. I personally am not a fan of someone claiming ownership over a sentence.

[@shinrailp1416]

I loved that Izanami fight. First time i got to the true ending i was NOT expecting this fucked up monstrosity. So far most bosses in the game were almost goofy or at least just weird but that thing was something else. The ending to that fight though, especially if you took the time to max ou your social links, was just such an awesome moment.

[@deathbykonami5487]

Yeah you get dragged into a bad couple's dispute between Izanami and our main persona, her husband, Izanagi. Makes it more poetic that the final blow is struck by Izanagi's true form, Izanagi-no-Okami.

[@smartyshorts3733]

In the Borderlands Zombie Island DLC you fight the final boss Dr. Ned in his lab. After dying pretty quickly the credits roll. Then his monstrous zombie form rips through the credits and says it ain't over yet. You then fight the monster in a blood pit. Pretty cool at the time

[@danhill99]

Ahh I’d forgotten that. What an amazing dlc that was!

[@daviddaugherty2816]

You actually fight him twice more in CL4P-TP's Robot Revolution, but Claptrap-ified. Pretty sure that's some kind of record. For Borderlands, at least.

[@DJAB87]

Final Fantasy 15: Episode Prompto. I really did not expect Verstael to transform into a giant mechanical land worm.

[@jekebe4858]

Resi really is a treasure trove of 'wonderful' examples for this. 7 is particularly notable for... well everyone. 4 has Sadler, and the WTF village leader. And can't forget the many faces of Nemmy from three, going from gimpsuit-enjoying giant at the beginning to doggo with the murder zoomies to sludgy Akira-adjacent horror by the end. Wouldn't want to forget the OG Mr. Eyeball 1998 G Burkin from Resi 2. I think there's something in the water over at Capcom...

[@galaxy-eyesgarchomp9478]

Noah Prime in Astral Chain comes to my mind with this. While Yoseph turning into a 150 foot tall kaiju definitely caught me off guard, Noah Prime turning into a four armed red aura nightmare berserker in the middle of the final battle was just crazy for me.

[@AndrewsYoutube]

Honorable Mentions to the 'Ultimate Being' from 'Parasite Eve' and all its forms. Especially what happens after you 'win' the battle with it and possibly think the game might be over. And Melissa when you fight her at the back of the theater and she first begins becoming Eve. You walk up to Melissa, just causally playing the piano, and then ....

[@SolaScientia]

I was wondering if Gascoigne would make it on the list or if he was too tame. Another candidate is Maliketh, the Black Blade. Relative tame Beast Clergyman at first, and the he turns into...that.

[@davidmelon9409]

Into a giant furry Elric of Melnibone armed with a massive Stormbringer? Yeah, that was something.

[@Darkprosper]

Isn't Maliketh just Gurranq without the robes ? I wouldn't call undressing a transformation...

[@SolaScientia]

@@Darkprosper No. They're not the same character. Maliketh is disguised as just some random beast clergyman, not Gurranq himself, as far as I know. Not to mention that Maliketh looks absolutely nothing like a beast clergyman.

[@Darkprosper]

@@SolaScientia I thought that it was undisputed at this point that Maliketh and Gurranq are the same entity. It makes sense thematically, and there are visual similarities. I don't really know what you mean by "a random beast clergyman", there is no indication that there are any other than Gurranq. As for how they look, I don't see any reason why Gurranq couldn't be Maliketh under the robes, they cover almost everything and the size is about right.

[@SolaScientia]

@@Darkprosper It's still, imo, a massive change in the pace and style of the fight. I honestly don't know or care about much of the Elden Ring Lore. It's a very good game, but the lore isn't as moving or as well developed for me as the lore of the Souls games and Bloodborne. People simp over Ranni, for example, and I can't stand her. I only did her quest because I wanted to collect the Moonlight Greatsword and because I'm doing Fia's ending and needed to do Ranni's for it anyway.

[@lilia4235]

One I haven't seen being mentioned is the Yeta boss fight from twilight princess, the adorable little bean was so helpless and cute and then... yeah... I had to stop playing when I was a kid.

[@Jonathon_Hennessey]

In the game Dark Souls 3, the player fights the tutorial boss Iudex Gundyr. When half of his health is gone, this black stuff called the Pus of Man comes out of his body transforming Iudex Gundyr into a monster that the player has to fight.

[@SolaScientia]

Yeah, that's a good one. I think it took a lot of people by surprise and it does a good job of setting the tone for the game.

[@ArkaneStephanie]

The wildest transformation was actually Heisenberg's voice actor, who transformed in Aston from Baldurs Gate 3. You can sort of her the resemblance once you know

[@Fertog1]

In a weird way, the Fire Giant from Elden Ring also fits. But only because I've come to expect enemies having MORE limbs after a transformation, not fewer.

[@jaredcrabb]

Godrick maybe. Cuts off his arm then adds a dragon head. And hes already got plenty.

[@kallasantysanty6092]

Dr. Ned from Borderlands 1 dlc comes to mind. There are even credits rolling after he dies... but this is not the end!

[@Viking648]

While I don't think the Elden Beast technically counts, it is still a wild turn of events to go from fighting Radagon -- one of the few characters in Elden Ring whose name I learned to recognize after over 100 hours of playtime (even if I still barely knew who he was) -- and then find myself fighting a giant golden dragon thing instead.

[@aikan7457]

I still remember that feeling of bewilderment upon seeing the Elden Beast rise after struggling to defeat Radagon, thinking I had just finished the game.

[@kalythai]

You can list most of the Final Fantasy series' final bosses as most of them are transformed monstrosities. FF1 has Garland transform into Chaos. FF2 had the Emperor make a deal with Satan and turn into a demon thing. FF4 had Zemus turn into a ghost blob and teh ghost blob transform into a giant meat monster. FF5 has Exdeath transform into the world tree then into yet another giant meat monster. FF7 has Sephiroth who transforms into BIZARRO Sephiroth which is a giant Sephiroth with flippers and a smaller Sephiroth on its forehead. FF8 has Ultimecia junction herself into Griever in the end and turns into a giant furry sealion cosplay and then she transforms into a giant faceless doll with a dangling body as her lower body. FF10 had Jecht transform into Brasca's Final Aeon which is a giant version of himself. FF12 has Vayne assimilate parts of his airship, named Bahamut, and turns into a big ol' scrap metal dragon in the shape of Bahamut.

[@christianchan1144]

Ahh Karl Heisenberg. The metal man who can withstand "anywhere between a nice summer's day *AND THE FULL CONCENTRATED POWER OF THE SUN* !"

[@xenophobiac4570]

A first playthrough of Parasite Eve; everything transforms into something you weren’t expecting and might not make it out of.

[@jaredcrabb]

Parasite Eve is why transforming bosses never surprise me. Im actually surprised when they DONT transform.

[@keyblademasterclark]

btw, if you don't have at least ONE person zombified when Yunalesca enters her third form YOU WILL DIE!

[@Michael_Lindell]

These Extreme Transformations require More Than Words to explain...

[@sebastianwlodarczyk]

Well played! Just realised I haven't heard that song in well over 10 years

[@RicochetForce]

Simmons in RE6 was incredible. Dude went from a middle aged man to a creature the size of a skyscraper. And back again. and again. And AGAIN. Like a transformer.

[@JeedyJay]

Between Simmons, Carla, and the Haos larva, Resident Evil 6 seemed to be channeling Parasite Eve with its climactic monster battles.

[@RicochetForce]

@@JeedyJay Oh, absolutely! The body horror in 6 was very reminiscent of Parasite Eve. Hell, IIRC one even had that a woman singing in operatic style over it as it went down.

[@claratalbot7613]

What about Thomas Mutton from Catherine/Catherine Fully Body? The majority of the game is the mysterious bartender occasionally offering advice. However towards the end of the game his role in the Nightmares becomes clear & u must now fight him not just his human form but also in his demon form which despite everything you've seen up until this point still is a surprise

[@Gamer1288]

1:56 And people say that the Resident Evil Virus' aren't just Magic. He literally generates Mass here.

[@JamesTM]

I've never understood where the Resident Evil viruses get all the extra mass for their transformations.

[@IidosGamingDen]

I think it's just growth via super rapid cell division.

[@ThymeTwister]

That's kind of half a biological explanation, but even such a process would require "fuel" of some kind. In reality it isn't possible to just create matter like that. But so what? It doesn't make sense and it's cool so don't worry about it.

[@JamesTM]

The mass for the new cells still has to come from somewhere. They're still made of *stuff*. No amount of cell division will turn a 200lbs man into a 2000lbs dinosaur monster without consuming _at least_ 1800lbs of the necessary materials. And if that giant creature is still only 200lbs, then it runs into all kinds of physical problems due to density, leverage, etc.

[@bauscheusse]

I know it's an MMORPG, but the Pandaemonium 8th Circle SAVAGE boss transformation was pretty damn wild and should totally be on the next of these lists if you ever make a 'MORE boss transformations' list

[@davidmelon9409]

"Gascoine is a Hunter, so it's a fair right", he said, as though Hunter fights weren't the nastiest in the game.

[@SolaScientia]

Now I'm reliving the trauma of fighting those the gank fight with the hunter trio in Yahar'gul. I ended up killing them one at a time and dying after each fight except for the 3rd one. I could focus on just 1 at a time. The duo on the way up to the Research Hall in the DLC is also a tough fight, especially with one shooting arcane crap at you from a distance.

[@sinteleon]

Kirby and the Forgotten Land also should get an honourable mention for being first presented as a giant fetus alien thing, but immediately goes into RE boss monster mode before you even get to engage it. Granted it does look better in the next phase, but still..

[@ZevVeli]

What about the opposite? Encounters that look like they're leading up to a fight with a transformed boss only for the potential boss to muck it up and turn into something harmless? The one that comes to mind with that is from Disk 1 of Legend of Dragoon where the magic researcher tries to invoke the power of cerberus to transform into a beast to drive you off, and accidentally becomes an overly friendly dog instead.

[@ThePhantomStinker]

If you feel like going old school, two games you can look up. #1: Haunting for the Sega Genesis. The final (and only) boss is against the family's Chihuahua. Which transforms into a multi-stage monster called the Ecto Beast. #2: Alien Soldier, also from Sega. There are a lot -- and I mean a LOT -- of boss fights in this game. But two of the longest and most intense start with just a regular human coming out and transforming into them.

[@jaredcrabb]

So #1 is basically every Chihuahua when pissed off😂

[@Twitchy_McExorcism]

Simmons's series of transformations is locked in a fierce battle with Chris Punching The Boulder for the title of Most Ridiculous Thing in All of Resident Evil, and that's a high bar to start. It's not just that Simmons goes from man, to cat-thing, to cat-thing centaur with a made-of-flesh minigun that launches what I think are supposed to be pointy bones, to t-rex, to giant fly, it's that he switches around those _while turning back into a man_ during the fights so that you can punch him in his human-shaped face a few times. It's one thing to perpetually grow bigger and generate the increasingly impossible amounts of mass necessary for the franchise's meaty monsters to not just be flesh balloons, it is quite another to go back and forth between that and _losing_ that much mass in a matter of seconds. And if not for RE6 kinda sucking in general, more people might remember Simmons's absurd changes and join me in my brainrot.

[@ka-mai]

There was a tiiiiiny nuclear power plant in that serum!

[@anwenlokier2292]

In my school vr game, there's a very interesting one boss being former lower moon 4 turned upper moon 6 Mukago (she gained the promotion after the death of Upper moon 5 Gyuomi was beheaded by the Mist Hasira) once the fight is over and demon slayer corp go after Goalius her ashes comeback and theres a unexpected surprise boss during Goalius boss fight he has a attack where he raises his hands like a Archvile from Doom and if the FF setting is on (FF = Final Fantasy which the setting is showing the name of attacks) he is doing the flames of rebirth and Mukago comes back only for her to mutate into a creature she calls herself Golgotha and she packs a whollop

[@user-hs1xb9tv6e]

I love this kind of bosses. When they transform you always know that things are about to go down hard.

[@DOGHEIST]

I'm so happy lady yunalesca is on here, that boss was insanely hard lmao. I remember quitting the game for weeks cause I couldn't get past her. she definitely caught me off guard

[@dustinmillar120]

I kind of saw it coming but was sad to see Serren in ME1 get back to after convincing him to end himself

[@fictionalcricket6789]

I did not see it coming but I also tend not to think ahead that much if I’m really into a story, so.

[@Armando1313s]

I don’t mind, but I’m surprised there was no “beware of spoilers for” title showing. Since final bosses are being shown and all.

[@armandocool97]

I loved Ready 2 Rumble it was the first ever game I played on my PS2 as I got it for Christmas. I was scared of having to fight Rumbleman because I knew I'd get the Game Over screen. Once I picked up on his patterns and attacked when he taunted, he wasn't that difficult to beat anymore. I 100% the whole game only to find out years later that I could have used a cheat code to unlock every boxer and costume lol. Oh well, at least I felt accomplished earning everything.

[@SebasTian58323]

Emil neir automata. I did not expect any of that battle

[@secondaryserenade]

Gascoigne's werewolf form isn't even as bad as it could have been. He didn't want to transform and it's implied in the game that those who didn't want to transform didn't reach their full beasthood potential.

[@PhoenicopterusR]

I have some questions about Amelia then.

[@secondaryserenade]

@@PhoenicopterusR My personal opinion on Amelia is that she believed devoutly in the Healing Church and their talk of ascension until it was too late. By the time she realized what it meant and started trying to fight it, the beasthood had matured inside her and it was only a matter of time before she transformed.

[@gamepassghost]

I mean I’m gonna make this comment out of spite because of how long that bloody tower fight against him took me. Genichiro Ashina. You spend the whole game kicking the ever living stuffing out of him just to have him rock up to the final fight and fill his summon gauge just a little too late. Pitiful grandchild…

[@kujatribal]

Honestly, when I looked at the title, the first Final Fantasy game that came to mind was NOT FFX and Yunalesca, but FFVIII and the final boss, Ultimecia, who you fight first as she first appears, very humanoid, then fight Griever, a GF born from Squall's lion symbol, then her junctioned form to Griever, and only after all that do you fight her real form, a grotesque entity that's literally eating space. And then FFIX and Meltigemini, who you probably weren't expecting to deal with such a weird creature considering you had already fought against Zorn and Thorn before, once in Alexandria Castle, when rescuing Dagger, and again right before the Meltigemini fight, with only Eiko, plus the Meltigemini form only appears during the fight and not in the cutscene before like bosses so adorably love to do. If I think hard enough, I might be able to shove more FFs into this. Edit: just remembered another. Gerogero from FFVIII. You first fight a fake president, and the second phase has him become a grotesque thing as well. Fun fact: the blue parts of Gerogero are blood and were originally red, but game rules at the time didn't exactly allow for such gore so they had to change it. If I remember correctly, a physical version of the card has Gerogero with red blood instead of the game's blue. Edit 2: remembered another, probably less known. Nero, in Dirge of Cerberus FFVII. You first fight him at the end of Chapter 10, nothing weird about it. But when you then fight against him in Chapter 11, he has become a giant (and might I say terrifying) spider, known as Arachnero. Seriously, as an arachnophobic, that thing is scary as hell (I like the game a lot, so it doesn't scare me as much anymore, but still). Gorgonero, the second phase, is basically Nero in a more spectral way, so at least we toned down the horror.

[@radaroreilly505]

I wonder if there is an example where a boss starts as a hideous, OTT monster then in the 2nd phase they transform into some guy.

[@Morkling]

I think the final boss from onimusha 4 does that? Its been a real long time, but im pretty sure he goes from the final boss of onimusha 1 to straight up a kingdom hearts villain in a white suit walking on air and sakura blossoms

[@nightmarethrenody8232]

Sephiroth might count? He goes through phases of increasing monstrosity, then you fight his human form one on one.

[@aidantrautsch327]

6:17 “king moron” made me laugh more than it should

[@Lord_Betty]

If you want to go a bit more obscure, there's always Luvia Bloodmire from Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2.

[@samanthaproctor6370]

Flemeth from Dragon Age Origins. She seems to be a simple human, albiet a powerful witch. If you choose to fight her, she turns into a very big, very powerful dragon with absolutely no warning

[@dylanmcgregor6496]

That frikkin baby scared me the first time I saw it. I swore that thing was in my hallway at night guarding the bathroom!

[@totalmockery3639]

There are 2 boss fights from Legend of the Dragoon that i recall where the boss transforms. One being a caterpillar monster that transforms into some humanoid butterfly when you get to the Divine Tree. The other is the final boss.

[@rickimaru915]

The boss of the swamp level in Ghosthunter starts out as a giant crocodile, but after you do enough damage it vomits up a giant, half digested man, who swings the crocodile as a weapon, while it’s still munching in his arm

[@hannahmabbott7370]

Yeah and it was originally a hunter who got eaten by the alligator since Crocodiles don't do well in swamps and oh boy don't get me started on those teddy bears in the school level!

[@Paledem]

For my money, Iudex Gundyr is a more shocking soulsborne early-game transformation than Gascoigne. Gascoigne’s transformation is abrupt and vicious, but the fact that people are turning into beasts is well-established by the time you find him. And he may or may not be the biggest beast you’ve encountered. But Iudex is just a dude with slime dripping from his armor. And then as soon as you get the hang of how to fight him, he becomes a giant snake thing with a huge claw all made of black pus. Pus monsters continue to appear through out the game, but Iudex is your introduction to them, and man it hits hard.

[@Hiswf_]

Is it just me or is seing a Ganondorf boss fight for the first time pretty surprising

[@davidpaul1733]

Gravity Rush 2 has some great transformations, but Kali Angel has a particularly big one. She goes all ‘Akira’ on Kat.

[@voodoominerman]

A good one from an old game is Golgotham from Sanity: Aiken's Artifact. He's basically just a big grey guy in a hood, and turns up throughout the game by just rising up through the ground. But halfway through the final boss fight under a slaughterhouse, he falls off a big platform into a lake of blood, and comes back up as a giant meat-minotaur.

[@420sakura1]

Izanami is one of the creation gods of Shinto. Also duck Inzanagi for abandoning her in the world of the dead

[@hellm0]

I'm slightly surprised there's no Ganondorf's on this list- sure, this day and age we expect him to transform in to some giant piggy beast, but I sure as heck wasn't expecting the puppets in Wind Waker!

[@samuxan]

Yeah. I was terrified as a kid at the end of ocarina with that change

[@Silenttalker22]

I know Saren from Mass Effect 1 doesn't need any more representation on an OX list, but yeah. Normal-ish Turian Soldier to Robot Spider Monkey thing that fires rockets.

[@MrAuthor3DS]

- Hrm, would Ultra Necrozma (Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon) count? I mean, how many people predicted that Necrozma would turn into a dragon made of pure light? - Also, Xion's final battle forms (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days). Sure, the armor is Sora-shaped, but how many of us have predicted that bizarre armor beforehand, let alone the plethora of strange weapons she wields in each phase? - Not sure how many people predicted that Tsugumi (NEO The World Ends With You) would take on the Grus Cantus form. Hell, I don't know how many even predicted that she was a Reaper. - Which of No More Heroes III's final bosses should I talk about? FU, who turns into a big furry dome for his second phase? Or Damon, who becomes a spiky demon for his sumo battle? - We should probably discuss Jergingha (The Wonderful 101). More specifically, him donning that giant Wonder-Mask from out of nowhere and manifesting a face and hands from chunks of metal.

[@brenotessaroto9610]

Video idea, in case you haven't done it yet, terrifing bosses that in their last fase become pushovers (sort of the oposite of this list), like clayface in Arkham City, where you get a sword in his last fase and he is just a melted blob, or old king allant from demon souls, where you fight king allant and he is a terrifing level-sucking boss, and at the end of the game he is also a melted blob

[@riksweeney]

Not really a transformation, but I didn't expect Godrick the Grafted to chop off his own hand and then attach a dragon's head to the stump to use as a flamethrower. Actually, as I'm typing this I've realised that with a name like Godrick the Grafted it shouldn't have come as a surprise.

[@chrispratt3666]

I was not expecting Saturos and Menardi from Golden Sun to fuse into a giant 2 headed dragon that body slams you from outer space

[@amafagussss]

Chained Echoes final boss transforms pretty spectacularly throughout the game. First a normal Human, he then becomes a hollow suit of amor, back to human, gross flesh monster and fially... even bigger gross flesh monster. Quite a ride! (Also, this is an amazing game! Hidden gem!)

[@Zakkleberg]

For the Resident Evil bosses, where is all that extra mass coming from? That's a huge amount of extra growth that they go through in not a lot of time at all. And especially for the Resident Evil 6 boss, after you beat him as a gigantic...fly? Thing? He goes back to normal? Did his extra matter get transported across the world to another Resident Evil boss who needed it?

[@JeedyJay]

There's a sequence on the skyscraper roof where Simmons devours a swarm of zombies for biomass before assuming the "Baalzebub" form. He also absorbs zombies during the fight to replenish himself, which you can use to use to your advantage by booby-trapping them.

[@Fr33dan]

This will be DMCA'd for the "get ready to rumble". Whoever owns that doesn't mess around. I've seen it get many a channel for just imitating it😕

[@thebrokenkindle]

I knew Kingdom Hearts would have a weird transformation at the end, but nothing could have prepared me for a giant demon faced airship sled with a man plugged into a second demon torso. Nothing.

[@OneMHz]

“Way too many collars” - well when you have that many shoulders, what else are you going to do about shirts?

[@aikan7457]

Probably not drastic enough to qualify, but i remember laughing when the stoic Godfrey transforms into the barbaric wrestler Horah Loux

[@RunAmuck73]

In Elden Ring, you beat Radagon and he becomes... the sword for the actual final dude that wasn't mentioned at all in the game up till then. Wild.

[@solabis]

Pretty sure its been mentioned at least in the elden star incantation description, some NPC dialogue also alluded to it but cant remember who

[@RunAmuck73]

@@solabis thanks for the correction. I don't remember, can you get Elden Stars before you face the Elden Beast? I remember all the names being said for all of the bosses being mentioned several times in the game and then, boom, Elden Beast and I was confused where it came from ha. There is a ton of lore, though, and i could've easily missed it.

[@rootyful]

I can think of one transformation/boss fight that really stuck out to me. An old classic - Secret of Mana (SNES), the fight against Thanatos. He is initially set up as one of four generals serving under the ominous Emperor, but where the other three generals are just some guys riding some motorbike weapons or commaning around hydras, Thanatos is slowly releaved to be pulling the strings through his ominous cult, and when you confront him for the final time.... He reveals his true form, a giant lich with the most badass and memorable boss soundtrack of the whole game.

[@DeerBonesBaby]

How about Dark Reize from Specter of Torment? The Enchantress has always been the penultimate fight in the Shovel Knight series, always doing some second phase transformation, but Specter of Torment is different. She summons your best friend's kid, who she's corrupted to be evil, to fight you. Throughout the game you have had a spat or two with him in this form, as just a scrawny edge-lord with boomerangs. But in this final boss she just transforms him into a giant behemoth that takes up half the screen. Really wasn't expecting the game to go all "Skate or die duuude!" but hell it was an awesome fight.

[@Neovipr]

Great video

[@blazebane9995]

Iudex Gundyr really caught me offguard, but that might be because it was first time playing a Fromsoftware game :P

[@scottlil01]

Xenoblade Chronicles 1 Endgame Spoilers Below The penultimate boss fight, against Dickson. For most of the game, he is just a Homs (Xenoblade equivalent of a human), which is what a lot of your party is. Then, as you're about to fight him, he transforms into a Giant, a race that's pretty much otherwise extinct, and he gets a lot of darkness powers to go with it.

[@pjsell]

“And, for some reason, 6 collars”😂😂😂😂😂

[@Chongotoro]

Airy from Bravely Default, amazing plot twist + disgusting transformation

[@zenthegeneral]

Prototype has two situations of this: First when you confront Elizabeth Greene for the first time and she turns out to be a giant flesh pod thing, and then when you fight Cross for the last time and it turns out he's been taken by the Supreme Hunter Anytime you deal with "viruses" that just means game devs take their creative liberties with transforming bosses, apparently

[@Minalaracroft]

11:19 ah yes, the good times when flowey was still the scariest thing in Undertale. No dog monster and depressed snow mom in the laboratory, no sir.

[@Hiswf_]

No jumpscare at the end of the game or black screen of void upon re-entering

[@PaigeLTS05]

Spoilers for Bravely Default . . . . . Airy. Even if you got spoiled and you know it's coming, it still takes you by surprise.

[@galaxy-eyesgarchomp9478]

When I first saw Izanami's transformation, I screamed WHAT THE FUCK!?!?! It definitely caught me off guard, but it is one of the reasons I love the boss fight with her. It was a nice nod to Izanami in Shinto Mythology.

[@welshlout3400]

I get we don’t want to stack the list with too many jrpgs but I would have found a spot for Psaro from Dragon Quest IV. Not only one of the very first mid-fight boss transformations, but that fight took the concept in a direction that’s rarely been explored since. I’m not going to spoil it here but damn that was a trip when I first played O_O

[@69belhaven]

Just gonna let you know right now Buffers lawyers almost assuredly are going to copywrite strike this video that man is allegedly very litigious and protective of his catch phrase.